Category Archives: Music and Grieving

Last Fall, alternative indie pop artist, Janna Pelle, introduced herself and her concept album, Key Change to Music Historian readers and the independent music scene in New York City. For the month of May, my interview with Janna has gotten into the top ranks of the blog’s most read articles. One reason for this might be the result of her fundraising efforts to make Key Change the album every classical and pop music enthusiast and history nerd wants to hear.

The evolution of the keyboard, which was largely inspired by the different performance spaces in which the piano was placed throughout history, inspires the concept in Key Change[i]. In her album, Janna infuses instruments that inspired the modern physical structure of the piano, like the harp and the forte piano, with pop-inspired tunes. While she is known for her natural inclination to promote herself without any hesitation; Janna’s campaign on PledgeMusic – which is filled with personality and elegance – will make fellow musicians, bloggers of independent music, artists, entrepreneurs with a music-focused business, and fans of the piano fall for enthusiasm and talent. Watch her campaign video right here:

Aside from bringing together additional talent within the independent art scene of New York City, Key Change represents the beginning of a new chapter in Janna’s life which followed many life-changing events. Music Historian has spoken to Janna about the themes in her first two albums. Shameless Self-Promotion (2012) reflect the moment she stepped out on her own as a musician. Janna wrote The Show Must Go On (2014) while she was grieving her father’s passing[ii]. While she is known for her natural inclination to promote herself without any hesitation; Janna’s campaign on PledgeMusic will attract fellow musicians, bloggers, artists, entrepreneurs with a music-focused business, and fans of the piano to her enthusiasm and talent.

Music-wise, Janna describes herself as the love child of Fiona Apple and Lady Gaga, with the alter-ego of David Byrne[iii]. If you want lyrics that describe city life, coping with difficulties, romantic relationships and sex, music that quotes theme songs from popular television series, and rhythms that can make you dance like you would at a club or a fashion show, then Janna Pelle brings it all. Pre-order her album Key Change today at PledgeMusic. As stated on the page which the previous link will take you to, donors can expect the album for a release date in November of this year.

I return to my interview session with Janna Pelle, which took place on the first Thursday of November, at the Bosie Tea Parlor in the West Village. As Janna received her order of Mau Feng tea, I asked her about the challenges and rewards she experiences in her career as a musician. She responds:

“Other than making money, I think the challenge is to be able to stay true to yourself. When you decide you want to do music professionally, you don’t know exactly what that would mean for you, or what you like about music. Will it give you the same sense of fulfillment that you would get in a job? Are you up for it? Do you want to do music your whole life? You need to enter with a very open mind. If you don’t do a certain thing, realize it does not mean you are selling yourself short, or failing. It means you are learning how to make yourself happy, how to support yourself, and balance all of these different things going on around music – even your lifestyle or sleep schedule. That’s the challenge, accepting what being a musician means to you.”

“It’s like taking care of a baby,” I commented.

“It is a baby!” Janna positively exclaims. “It’s like your creative brain child. And as a musician, you are always in a state of flux. I’ve been playing keyboards for other bands, making posters for them, and more. It goes back to the feeling like I am providing a service to people. That’s going to make me happy. I would prefer to do something that makes me passionate.

“I don’t know what type of audience I will reach at any time, but I know that when I perform for Beatles Fest, my own shows or a cover set, I can feel good about myself. I completed work for somebody, they appreciate the fact that I am playing their music, and that’s my job.”

The subject of audience reminded me of Janna’s plan for Key Change, the album which received the dedicated concert from earlier this week. The concept for this record involves following the chronological history of the keyboard’s evolution from harpsichord to synthesizer. Further the music in this record mixes classical with pop, and offers an ode to the versatility of the piano and all the changes it underwent throughout history to make it better.

“The evolution is really interesting,” begins Janna. “There is no other keyboard instrument like the modern piano. You can do everything with it; play delicately, legato, staccato, very high, very low, loud, or soft.

“The earlier keyboard instruments were all imperfect in some way. The clavichord was perceived as a passive instrument. Then, the harpsichord was built for really small rooms – it was the elitist’s instrument present at dinner parties for all the kings, queens and important politicians. Organs, which actually came before these instruments, were placed in churches with high ceilings and started to be adapted for concerts. Organs were, however, huge and importable. People couldn’t do anything with them, including playing very short notes as the sounds linger in the pipes for a long time. The modern day piano blends portability, mobility, long notes, short notes, and all the qualities of the earlier keyboards together. You can play harpsichord music on the piano, and anything.

“Part of the reason I love the piano is so much is because it is a solo instrument. When I came to New York, I said to myself, I don’t have all of these other instruments [with me]. With the piano, I am able to write for myself, sing and accompany myself. I also like how it is a percussion instrument. I love playing heavily on the keys and not worrying about anything really. It is not hard to produce a note, compared to the violin and other instruments, like woodwinds.”

As Janna worked on the album, she had the opportunity to work with a musician from Juilliard on one of her songs. This made her think about marketing to an audience of classical musicians, conservatory musicians, or dormant musicians. Janna explains:

“I am not sure what your reason for being dormant is,” Janna says, “but the people I know who say they’re a dormant musician claim it’s because of time consumption. I think many of these dormant musicians have not listened to anything other than the pieces they played growing up. I think they will find this album interesting and fresh. And there are a lot of little tasteful musical moments that music nerds will be able to appreciate.”

One song from Key Change my audience in New York City will definitely appreciate is “City Life,” in which Janna sings … So, this is city life/ for better for worse/ even on a shitty day/ I still live in the greatest place on Earth. I am sure anybody who has taken on the city at one point in their lives will relate to some of the lyrics in this song. If you live in New York, enough said.

I wondered about the moment Janna had – and I ask this of all my musical subjects – when she decided to become a musician. She answers:

“That moment is still evolving. When I graduated, I wanted to try being a musician though I didn’t know what that meant. I just knew that for a fact from the time I left school, moved back to Miami (the singer’s home town) for two months, and then came here. I could have gone right into advertising, there is an advertising school in New York. I thought about going to Spain for a little while to teach English. I earned a minor in ESL, and linguistics, and that always interested me. Yet, I felt I could do that at any age. It was mainly just feeling like it was my time to do this. I’m as young as I am ever going to be today, so it’s time to do it.”

Wherever Janna goes with her career and however long she decides to stay in music is up to her, and her future looks bright. Aside from her immediate confidence, charm and her passion for songwriting and performing, Janna has support from many different communities – her peers, patients and their families battling a serious illness, the artists who join her during a performance, the lovers of music she wins over with her songs, and the business partners who help her along the way.

Janna Pelle, a young advertising grad from the University of Florida in Gainesville, builds her portfolio by helping promote a musician she knows very well – herself. Why? When a first-time professional steps into the competitive world of advertising, marketing and communications, she must stand out. Doing so sometimes requires some shamelessness.

“I had a band in college,” Janna beings. “We were called Janna Pelle and the Half-Steps. We performed covers and originals around campus and venues around the city, we were the house band of the University of Florida family events, and we performed at all of the parents’ weekends.

“My band – who were also my best friends in college – and I had just finished an album. As I was graduating, I knew I wouldn’t be in Gainesville anymore, but I did not know yet that I was coming to New York City to do music. Shameless Self-Promotion was the first album I had made without the band, and I started working on it knowing that I was going to be on my own soon. My drummer was going to law school, my bass player was going to be a teacher for Teach for America, and my guitarist would become an Apple Techie.

“When I worked on Shameless Self-Promotion, I had an opportunity to do something different. I also started working on that album knowing I would pursue music. I hate saying the word “pursue music” because I’m [already] doing it, why say the word pursue? So, I finished the whole album in a relatively short time. I had a bassist and a drummer do their part, and I produced the entire album. I knew I needed to have a product ready by the time I would decide to move where I wanted.”

I asked Janna, “And you were studying advertising?”

“Yes, exactly,” she answers. “As a result of this advertising endeavor, I felt so certain I could take a year or more without working in an agency, and do music. I am still building my advertising portfolio in the process – my album, logo, merchandise, and posters I have made for my shows are all a part of that now. At this point, I feel a certain confidence in wanting to do music as my full career. Shameless Self-Promotion was the product I needed to have before I moved to New York.”

Before physically skimming the back cover of her cd-case that proved her record was recorded in Gainesville; I stop for a second to see a nude shot of Janna on the front cover. She has her knees folded and placed up below her neck and on her feet, she wears lightning white go-go boots with her logo on them. This photograph has tasteful nudity which does not even touch risqué. Plus, I certainly could not have thought of cooler visual to match the phrase “shameless self-promotion.”

I then listen to tracks on this album like “Machine” and “Accessory,” and feel excited about Janna’s music. As I research her discography and find her 2014 release, The Show Must Go On, I learn that she courageously shares with listeners the tough experience of her father, who battled cancer. When I sat down with Janna to talk to her about her upcoming album Key Change, I discovered a lover of music history seeking to include a niche audience, in addition to her target listeners – conservatory students. Janna has come to the right blogger. I feel delighted to welcome her as my feature interview subject for November on Music Historian.

Prior to starting Janna Pelle and the Half-Steps at UF, Janna’s musical journey started at the tender age of 6, when she enrolled in piano lessons with a teacher, Rachel Currea.

“My parents enrolled me in piano lessons when I was 6. I was enrolled because I have hyperextension of the inter-phalangeal ligaments. My parents did not know how that would affect me later in life, so they wanted me to exercise my hands.

“They met Rachel, who is still one of my best friends – she’s amazing. My parents told her, ‘Whether she learns little songs only we will hear, or becomes musical; we want her to have fun and exercise her hands.’ So that’s when I learned to enjoy playing.”

Janna did become musical, and eventually enrolled in a piano magnet high school, where she performed in state-wide classical recital programs. Throughout Janna’s high school education, Rachel acted as her trainer. When the young pianists had to decide on what to major in, Janna decided to continue with music without focusing on it as a degree.

“I realized I did not want to major in music, but I still wanted room for it in my schedule. Gainesville is a great music town, so I was able to form a band. I was greatly influenced by classical, rock and a little bit of jazz. Although I was no longer taking classical lessons… having a band… that experience was just as formative as my classical lessons.”

Hebrew music also slips its way into Janna’s repertoire. I wondered whether she liked Klezmer music – music I happened to play with a college ensemble at Syracuse University – and she claims her chord changes resemble that sound, but the instrumentation is very different. Listeners will not hear a wailing C-tuned clarinet in Janna’s music. However, the chord changes she talks about resonated a little with me, especially in her song, “Machine.” Further, she quotes a measure of a popular animated cartoon series television show from the 80’s. Can you guess what it is? Visit her website, www.jannapelle.com, listen to “Machine” and let me know in the comments section.

Another song that excited me is the one she performed at the CMJ showcase I reviewed last month and the one that gets listeners most excited – “Accessory.” Through the lyrics, Janna turns a romantic male partner into an object, calling him “her favorite accessory,” and how no other piece of jewelry can do what he can do to her. I asked her about the metaphor between sex and fashion. Janna explains:

“You hear the expression ‘trophy wife,’ but you can definitely have a ‘trophy husband,’ or even a ‘trophy relationship.’ You can carry around any kind or relationship as an accessory really.

“The song is all about liking the presence of a person in your life and what they represent. There is nothing wrong with wanting someone as an accessory. You are proud of them and you want to show them off like an expensive bracelet. So, it is not always a negative form of objectification. You feel proud and it’s sweet when you want to show somebody off like that.”

While materialism seems to largely lingering in the background of Janna’s lyrics, the artist does not consider herself a highly materialistic person at all. She defines herself as a sentimental person. Her 2014 EP, The Show Must Go On – a dedication to her father, Tony Pelle, demonstrates this more intimate and emotional side.

Janna felt a need to write songs when her father was diagnosed with MDS, a type of cancer which is also known as “pre-Leukemia.” According to Janna, it goes without saying that songwriting served as a form of therapy for her. However, she felt humbled and happy to learn that it helped her family and listeners battling the same sickness.

“My aunt would tell me, ‘Every morning when I wake up, I listen to “Kick It In,” and look at the slide show you made about my brother [Janna’s father]. That’s how I start my morning.” That was what she did until the day he died. She always used that as therapy.

“There is a song on there for my Mom called “In Your Free Time.” [My Mom] is so devoted to other people. I know that helped her and my Dad a lot. My Dad got to hear all of the album before things got bad. Looking back, I sometimes I think I was so naïve writing these songs, but I wasn’t, I was hopeful. That’s all you can be in these situations.”

The MDS Newsletter featured Janna in one of their issues and distributed information about The Show Must Go On to all of their patients and support groups. People also started donating money to the album, which Janna in return gives to MDS research.

“That was also therapy for me, to know I was actually making a difference, raising money and awareness. I also received emails from patients and their family members who said, ‘I found your album, and it helped me express what I’m feeling now.’ That it really stuck with them. I knew the album would be therapeutic for me, but I didn’t know it would be therapy for so many other people.”

“That is good business right there. People showed and demonstrated how your product helped them,” I remarked.

“I think I would like to go into Non-Profits. Honestly. I will never feel as fulfilled as when I did knowing that I was helping people get through a seriously tough time,” she replied.

Fast-forward a few days to the show Janna put on for the release of her next full-length, Key Change. This performance took place on Monday night, November 10th, at Pianos in the Lower East Side. Here, she performed with her drummer, Leo Freire and bassist Jamie Pitrelli. She also welcomed poets, dancers, Sylvana Joyce and Sean Cunningham to sing and play violin with her in the song “Crazy,” guitarist and singer-songwriter, Jade Zabric, and even welcomed The Super Market Fairy (aka Sally Graves) to come and pass out small samples of organic food to the audience. The most sentimental portion of her show included a verbal message to the audience before she sang, “One Day at a Time.”

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

“If there is anybody in your life you maybe take for granted,” she said as she played the chords of her song on the keyboard, “think about them when you hear this song. Remember that you don’t live your day to the fullest until you tell them you love them.”

It was certainly one of the most memorable shows I have seen on the Lower East Side. The amount of additional talent involved reminded me that there is room for everybody in music. While she might be promoting herself, Janna, like Alyson Greenfield, understands that artists live in a community where they have opportunities to support each other.

Stay tuned for part 2 of my article, in which I talk to Janna about the inspiration behind Key Change. In the meantime, I leave you with this:

I’m never one to directly ask a reader to listen to an artist’s music, but if you want to try and recognize the theme song of a popular animated cartoon series from the 80’s quoted in “Machine” of a listen to it here. If you can recognize the theme song, please write it in the comments below. Thank you!

What do you think?

Thank you for stopping by. Whether you are following this blog, visiting this site for the first time, or you are returning reader, I want to hear your thoughts about Music Historian on “A Page for My Readers.”

A Privacy Note for the Artists

To the artists who have been a subject on Music Historian. Thank you for sharing your world, your experiences, and thoughts about why you do music. It is a pleasure to interview you and transform your stories into thoughtful articles.

I also understand that times change. If you are an artist who has had an interview published on this blog, and have decided that you no longer want it up on the site, please send me a message to musichistorianblogger@gmail.com.

Alternatively, if you would like for me to write about anything new that is happening with you in relation to music you feel people should really know about, please don’t hesitate to contact me for a chat via the email address above. Thank you.

A Privacy Note to Readers who comment

Askimet is the anti-spam service for wordpress.com, the platform on which the blog is created. Askimet collects information about visitors who comment on the site, and that typically includes the commentator’s name, username, email address, site URL, and the comment. This information is collected to determine whether the content is spam or not.

Only comments which I approve will be published on the site. Your email and site URL will not publish with the comment. If you had a comment which published and you wish to have it removed, please don’t hesitate to contact me at musichistorianblogger@gmail.com

I do not hold on to your data. This is part of the wordpress.com system.